1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to furniture assemblies and fastener systems for assembling articles of furniture and, more particularly, to an improved and modular kit assembly which utilizes prefabricated members and fasteners for versatile construction of an article of furniture according to a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Knock-down furniture assemblies and related fastener systems for use with such assemblies are well known in the art. The objective in each instance is to provide a type of prefabricated furniture assembly which can quickly be assembled together, such types of furniture commonly including chairs, shelving units, tables and the like.
A number of attempts have been made in the prior art to provide an effective fastening means for a knock-down furniture assembly and examples of such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,506, issued to Wieland, U.S. Pat. No. 4,511,108, issued to Ponzellini, U.S. Pat. No. 4,146,342, issued to Cederholm, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,148,106, issued to Gallien. In each instance, the prior art teaches a fairly sophisticated variation of an interconnecting fastener for use with prefabricated furniture members for securing together the members in some structural manner. It is however submitted that none of the referenced prior art overcomes the shortcoming of failing to provide an improved and simplified assembly device which is capable of establishing a secure and enduring connection between prefabricated structural members.